Regulators probe U.S. takeover bids for Asian computer companies

European anti-trust regulators Monday launched in-depth probes into takeover bids for two Asian companies by two American peers in the computer hard disk drive sector, media reports said Tuesday.

U.S.-based Seagate Technology has said it wants to buy Samsung Electronics Co's loss-making hard disk drive unit for 1.4 billion U.S. dollars -- a deal that will give Seagate access to Samsung's NAND-type flash chips for its solid-state drive products.

Western Digital plans to purchase Hitachi Ltd's hard disk drive business for 4.3 billion dollars to give it an edge in developing next-generation storage technology.

The two planned acquisitions in a sector with just five manufacturers worldwide have raised concerns in Brussels, the European Commission said.

"Hard drives are the backbone of the digital economy," said EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia in announcing the investigation.

"The sector has already experienced significant consolidation and the proposed acquisitions will further reduce competition."

Brussels officials have until Oct. 10 to decide what action if any they will take.

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